Over the years, I have had clients who have had questions about the ‘way’ they were married and whether the fact that there were technical failures in their ceremony actually made them not married. I am old enough to refer to the Flintstones episode wherein Wilma and Fred discover that their minister was not authorized to marry them. Hilarity ensues when Wilma then treats herself as a single gal, despite years of marriage. Minnesota Statutes have been on top of this for years. Minnesota Statute Section 517.16 states: A civil marriage solemnized before a person professing to be lawfully authorized to do so shall not be adjudged to be void, nor shall its validity be in any way affected, on account of a want of jurisdiction or authority in the supposed officer or person, if the civil marriage is consummated with the full belief on the part of the persons so married, or either of them, that they have been lawfully joined in civil marriage. This does not let unauthorized persons performing the ceremony off the hook; they are guilty of a misdemeanor. Minnesota Statutes Section 518.055 also covers ‘Putative Spouses’-those who live together as spouses in the good faith belief that they are married. Such spouses acquire the same rights as if they had been married during the time the belief that they were married existed. There is a case knocking around the Hennepin County Court system involving a woman claiming she was a ‘putative spouse’ and asking for permanent spousal maintenance. Her (already married) boyfriend went through a marriage ceremony with her as a romantic...

In Anoka County, where a judge assigned to a particular family court matter remains on that file indefinitely, parties can at least know that the same person, for better or worse, is reviewing their file. In other counties, such as Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, where judges rotate in and out of Family Court, there is no such guarantee. In those counties, many parties opt for a Consensual Special Magistrate to have the consistency and familiarity to which they may not always be privy. Consensual Special Magistrates (CSMs) are highly trained and experienced family law attorneys who are paid by the parties to make rulings in their case. CSMs enjoy a high degree of familiarity with family law and attorneys trust them because of this. The hearings are recorded and the same rules of evidence apply. These cases can be heard much more quickly than those on a trial court calendar, and the decisions of the CSM are appealed to the Court of Appeals rather than to the District Court. In a recent unpublished decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, the parties are able to schedule hearings relatively quickly and, though each party clearly felt that the CSM had made errors, they were able to avail themselves of the CSM who clearly had an intimate knowledge of the case. However, the use of a CSM can substantially increase the cost of a family law matter, and because of this expense, a CSM is not a good fit for every case. While many family law attorneys are also mediators, ENE evaluators, and MSC, relatively few have the level of training...